Chicken recorder



ril 20 1926. Ap F. s. HAYDEN CHICKEN RECORDER YFiled April 14,' 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet Hoz mug 7 o 2. l 8 5, 1.. N .E D Y A H S. E .m 9 l CHICKEN RECORDER Filed April 14, 1924' A2 Sheets-Sheet" /l l /ll [lll Fatented Apr. 20,

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK s. HAYDEN, oF HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA.

cnIcKRNv RECORDER.

Application ledfApril 14, 1924. SerialY No. 706,410.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK S. HAYDEN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Harrisonburg, in the county of Rockingham and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful ChickenRecorder, of which the. following'is a specication.

The present invention is al chicken pedigree device or recorder for trap nests or the like which will give a record ofl each individual chicken entering the nest. y

It is well known that numerous devices for accomplishing they same general purpose as this invention, that is', obtaining a record of laying hens, have been proposed,

but it is the object of this invention to produce a simple and effective device of this kind which isy more reliable and definite in its recordation of individual hens than like devices.

The invention briefly resides in a shiftable record sheet positioned at some point of en'- trance or exit of a nest upon which the hen will tread, the hen wearing on its foot a stamp having designating characters thereon which will impress yits imprint on the recording sheet, the stamp being positioned under the foot of the hen directly under the leg thereof, where the greatest pressure will be exerted as the hen is forced to crouch as she enters a smallpassage or opening in the nest, the record sheet being shifted to present a fresh surface for other hens sube sequent-ly entering the nest.

rEhe invention further resides in the sun-A dry details of construction, and combination and arrangement of parts which will be described as the specification proceeds.

In this specification and the annexed drawings, the invention is disclosed in the form in which it is considered to be the best, but the invention is not limited to such form because it is capable of being embodied in other forms; and it is to be understood that in and by the claims following the description herein it is intended to cover the invention in whatever form it may embody within the scope thereof. e

ln the drawings which show the preferred embodiment of the invention as at present devised, v

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through a trap nest equipped with the invention.

Fig. 2 is av fragmentary front elevation of a trap nest shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 4:-4 of F igjB. e

vFig. 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of a portion of the device illustrating a modified form of record sheet. f

Fig. 6 is an underface of a hens foot wear ing a boot constructed in accordancek with this invention and equipped with a record stamp. v

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a hens foot wearing the boot, and

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken through the boot substantially on line S-8 of Fig. 6. f y

Referring vin detail to the ydrawings in which like characters denote like parts throughoutthe specification and drawings, l denotes a nest of any suitable type or construction equipped with an entrance opening vZand an eXit opening 3. i Positioned inside of the nest and adjacent the entrance opening 2 is a suitable platform 4, overwhich a record sheet 5, preferably of paper or any other suitable material, is laid. This record sheet is to be stepped on by the hen wearing Y a boot 6, illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of thc drawings, equipped with a suitable marker or stamp* having characters thereon which will denote the respective hen wearing the same.

This boot consists of a pad d of leather,

cloth or other suitable material to lie under the ball of the foot directly under the leg of the hen, and having straps b extending from the edge of the pad a upwardly to lie between e, of metal or other suitable material, having sharp edged characters f thereon which will denote the wearer of the boot.

The entrancev opening 2 may be of the usual size and dimension, however this opening is jartially closed by an inwardly vertically swinging door .7 cut out at its lower edge to forni an opening 8 of considerably reduced dimensions than that of the entrance opening 2. rilhe door 'i' may be of any suitable construction of material so long as a re duced opening 8 is provided. rlhe object of this construction is to provide an opening` through which the hen can extend its head and shoulders and then finding that the door will give under forward pressure, will vproceed into the nest. but will be forced to croiich due to the top edge f/ of the opening S engaging the back ot the hen, as illustrated in Fig l. lt is found that when the hens foot tlattens out the bottom of the foot directly under 'the leo' engages the ground or floor and exerts considerable pressure thereagainst, because of the weight of the hen being on the ball of the foot, and additional weight exerted diie to a Crouching position.

It is to be understood that'the record sheet 5 is so positioned on'tlie platform il with relation to the door T as to permit the hen to step upon the sheet while in the crouched position. is the hen proceeds forward into the nest the door T will be swung upwardly so far on its pivot to inove easily over the bach of the hen without harm or injury to it7 and after the hen is fully within the entrance the door '7 will swing closet by its own weight. rthe hen having stepped on the record sheet 5, has made a suitable impression thereon and has )assed from the platform into the body of the nest 9 where she lays an egg. lEy reason of the door 'l' being hung to swing inwardly only, the lien will be forceto pass from the nest through the exit oj'viening 8.

rl'he exit opening is of the usual dimensione and is partially closed by a vertically outwardly swinging door 10 which is of the saine general coi'istrnctions as the door 2, but can he modified as desired. The purpose of the door i() is to canse the hen tosiving it outwardly as it passes froin the nest and to shift the ieeoidirgsheet 5 to present a fresh surface at the e nce opening in some forms of this invention it inay not be desirable or necessary to shift the record sheet 5 but on poultry farms where large numbers orn chickens are raised, it is foiuidtliat this is desirable.

rlhe record sheet niay be of wan or softn'i'aterial which will recei.e an impression from the ip, or it may be a paper disposed over an inliing ribbon ll (Las shown in Fig. il), or over a suitable carbon sheet. 12, shown in Fig.

In tl'iefconstriiction shown in l? l, 23 and fl, both the record sheet 5 `and tho inltiug ribbon ll 'are shifted as the hen passes through the exit opening To accomplish this a roll o'f record paper is supported on the bearand lupwardly through 'a suit* Lesmo? able slot ll in the platform #l and thence along the platform-in front of the opening 2 through a slot 15 and then down between feed rollers 16 and 1T. rlilhe inked ribbon is likewise supported on hearing brackets 18 and passes up through a slot 19 and extends cto-extensively with and under the recording` sheet 5, hence through the slot l5 and is liliewise fed by the rollers 1G and 17, and .is rewonnd on a spool 2O held in yieldable engagement with the roller l?, by a spring 2l.

Motion is imparted to the feed roll 17 by a cable 22 havingone end secured to the enit door 'l0 and passing over suitable pulleys to a drinn 23 upon which the other end of the cable is wound. rlhe drinn 23 is loosely mounted on the shaft 24rwhich supports the feed roller'l and with which the roller 17 is fast. A torsion spring Q5 constantly exerts a yielding tension on the drinn 23 to inaintain the cable QQ'tautand for winding the saine thereupon.

A ratchet wheel 26 is fast on the shaft 2l and is engaged by a pawl 27 rotatable with the drinn 28. The arrangement of these parts 4is such that when the door lO'is-swung 'upwardly by the hen'passing out of the nest, the drinn Q13 is rotated'in the direction of the arrow, shown in F ig. 4, the pawl 2? will engage the ratchet 26 and rotate'th'e feeding roll 1T which7 by reason of its frictional contact with the roller 1G, will shift the record sheet and the ribbon 1l on the platform a desired degree.

lt is also well within the purview of the invention to substitute 'for the ribbon roll ll a stationary carbon sheet l2, shown in Fig.

To protect the record sheet 5 a suitable cover 9,8 may be provided having an opening` 29 therein arranged directly in the path of movement: ofthe hen entering through the opening 2, thereby reducing the area of the record sheet which will be exposed.

ln order to loclr the entrance opening against the admission of other liens while the nest is being occupied, a suitable latch means is employed which will be renderer effective by the movement of the door 7 and inelilect-ive by the enit of the hen through the opening To this end a latch barSO is slidably mounted on the cover 28, or other suitable portion of the nest, to have a nieve nient toward and away from the door The end of the bar 3G, adjacent'the door 'l carries a'resilient detentl. to be moved in position to be engaged by the door and hold it in locked position, by a spring 32 acting on the latch bar to slide the saine in its guides 33. The latch bar carries a rigid stop nicn'iber positioned to be eng; fed by a detent 35, to hold the latch bar 30 in its norinal ineffective position and against the action of the spring The detent '35 is. actuated by a bell crank lever '37 having one end suitably connected thereto to shiftit out lOO of the path of the stop 341, andthe other end thereof having a projecting arm 3S positioned to be engaged by the inward swinging movement of the door 7. The sliding latch bar is connected at its inner end by a cable 36, or other suitable means, to the outwardly swinging exit door 10. Assimiing that a hen has passed out of the nest and swung the door lO to its dotted line position,

a suitable vpull is exerted on the cable 36 to draw the latch bar 30 against the action of the spring 32 to the full line position'sliown iii Fig. l. in this position, the detent 35 will engage the stop 34 and hold the latch bar in its ineffective position, whereby the door 7 is free to swing inwardly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. l. d `Now assuming that a lien enters, moving the door 7 to the dotted line position, the door will engage the projecting arm 38 of the bell crank lever and move the same to the dotted line position, which will raise the detent 35 out of engagement with the stop 34; and permit the spring 3Q to move the latch bar toward they doorway 2 to locking position, this movement of the bar 30 being limited by the en-` gagement of the stop 3A with the guide 33'. After the hen has passed into the nest the door 7 will gravita-te to the full line vertical position, and in so returning the extension 39 therein will engage the resilient detent 31, depress and pass the same, whereby the deteiit 3l will lie on the inside of the eXtension 39 in its path of movement, to maintain the door locked against the admission of another lien, until the hen occupying the nest has passed out and operated the door l() which in return actuates the latch bar 30 to ineffective position, as above described.

rlChe relative position of the extension 39 and detent 31 is such, in their locked position, that inward pressure on the door 7 will not be in the direct line of movement of the detent 31 or the bar 30, but substantially angularly thereto, and therefore cannot move the bar against the pressure of the spring A Ldoor AO is provided in front of the nest to permit access to the record sheet 5 fed through the rollers 16 and 17 in order that the record may be obtained daily` It is to be understood that the construction herein shown may be varied in such manner as permitted by the claims without departing from the spirit thereof, and it is also within the purview of the invention to employ rollers and antifriction elements as ni ay be necessary and required to reduce friction between the operating parts.

Having described the invention in the form it is at present devised, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed as novel and upon which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

l. A register for chicken nests comprising a nest having entrance and exit openings, a

shiftable recording sheet arranged at one of said Vopenings to be stepped on by a chicken, means for maintainingr the entrance closed againstA ingress and egress after a chicken has passed into the nest, means at the eXit opening to prevent ingress, an actuating means operated by the exit of the chicken for shifting said record sheet after the latter has received said impression thereon and for releasing said closure means at the entrance opening 2. A nest for chickens having an entrance and exit opening, closure means at said openings, a shiftable recording sheet arranged at the entrance opening to be stepped on by the chicken, means for shifting the sheet, comprising a feeding lmechanism and an operating connection between said mechanism and the closure at the exit.

3,. A nest for chickens having ent-rance and exit openings, a record sheet arranged at thev entrance opening to be stepped on by the chicken, a staniper worn by the chickens foot, means for shifting the sheet and actuated by the exit of the chicken from the nest, doors arranged at said openings, 'the door at the entrance opening being cut away to permit the partial entrance of the chicken and to swingvertically under the advance of the chicken in the nest, whereby the chicken is caused to crouch and exert greater pres sure on the stamper and eect a clear impression on said record sheet, said actuating means consisting of feed rollers, a spring drum, a pawl and ratchet connection between said drum and rollers, and a flexible connection between said exit door and said drum and normally held taut by said drum.

4. A nest for chickens as set forth in claimV 3 further characterized by means for automatically locking the entrance door against inward movement after the chicken has entered the nest, and a connector between said means and said exit door and actuated by the movement of said door to render said locking means ineffective. A

5.`A nest for chickens having entrance andeXit openings, doors for said openings normally urged to closed position, means for automatically locking the entra-nce door' against inward movement after a chicken has passed into the nest comprising a latch having a yieldable detent portion normally urged in the path of movement of the door,

another deteiit for holding the latch in ineffective position and actuated by the open of said entrance door to release said latch, and an operable connection between said i exit door and latch for moving the latter out of the path of the entrance door and to position tobe held by said second detent.

6. A nest for chickens having an entrance opening, a record -sheet arranged at the enbe stepped on by the trance opening to eilig/ken, a stainpcr to be worn by the chickens. foot, a door partially restricting said opening and to swing vertically under the advance ofthe chicken into the nest, Whereby the chickens is caused to crouch and exert greater pressure on the stamper.

7. A nest for chickens having` entrance and exit openings, a niovable member at said exit opening, a record sheet arranged adjacent the entrance opening, a stainper to be IU worn by the chickens toot, lneans for shift my hand.

FRANK S. HAYDEN. 

